Sly Bailey faces a further protest from Trinity Mirror shareholders at the company's annual meeting on Thursday amid speculation that the departing chief executive could see over 20% of investors voting against her reappointment.

Although any shareholder revolt against Bailey will fall well short of the 50% needed to force her out of office immediately, investors dislike voting against individuals making the scale of the protest all the more significant.

Trinity Mirror is also aware that Andrew Moss, the chief executive of Aviva, who stepped down on Tuesday morning in a revolt over his pay, was also re-elected by 95% of investors.

Moss fell because 54% of investors voted against the insurer's remuneration report, but Trinity notes that a significantly higher personal protest against Bailey would put her under greater pressure.

Unlike Aviva, the publisher believes it will win the vote on its remuneration report, with Bailey's departure having allayed some concerns, although there is still expected to be a sizeable protest. A year ago, 11% of shareholders voted against the report at the 2011 AGM and the shares have fallen by 36% since then.

There are expected to be protests against the re-election of other board members, with former Channel 5 boss Jane Lighting, the head of the company's remuneration committee, a particular target.

However, although it had been thought possible that Lighting could even be voted off the board before Bailey announced her departure, it is understood that the level of protests had eased since the chief executive confirmed she would be stepping down.

There are also worries that the long period before Bailey exits could leave her as a lame duck chief executive, and the publisher may well appoint a replacement before then. Egon Zehnder – the firm being used by the BBC to find a new director general – has already been appointed as a headhunter.

Company insiders believe that Vijay Vaghela, the long-serving finance director, is likely to be a candidate, as is Mark Hollinshead, the former sales executive who is now managing director of the group's national newspapers division. However, following Johnston Press's appointment of former BBC director of future media Ashley Highfield, the company is expected to want to consider candidates with digital experience.

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